June 17, 2015 — The Sierra Club plans to issue a Notice of Intent this afternoon to sue the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) over its failure to allow the PSEG Mercer Generating Station to run on expired permits and without proper cooling towers. These actions have led to the death millions of fish and aquatic organisms in the Delaware River including two endangered species: the shortnose sturgeon and the Atlantic sturgeon. By failing to protect these species the NJDEP has ignored their status under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Sierra Club is urging the NJDEP to implement a closed loop system like installing cooling towers to comply with the Clean Water Act and prevent the fish kills.
“We are going to court to try and force DEP to do the job it’s supposed to do, which is to protect the Delaware River, its fisheries, and ecosystem. For far too long, the DEP has allowed the Mercer Generating Station to pollute the River and kill more 70 million fish and fish larvae per year. The DEP has also failed to protect species they are legally required to protect like the Atlantic and shortnose Sturgeon. That is why we are filing this legal action for the DEP’s failure to enforce the Endangered Species Act and failure to protect the River,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This River belongs to everyone and the failure to have a closed loop system not only adds pollution, but causes nitrification and impacts fisheries and recreation. This plant is a not only a hazard to our air, but our waterways. The River belongs to all of us not just PSEG and the DEP must do its job.”
ESA Section 9 prohibits and makes unlawful the unpermitted “take,” in other words killing or harming, of endangered species within the United States. The State of New Jersey, acting through the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), issued a permit to PSEG for its cooling water intake structures at the Mercer coal-fired plant in 2006. The Mercer plant pulls between 630 and 690 million gallons of water a day from the River, killing around 70 million organisms every year. Two endangered species are killed at the plant, the Shortnose sturgeon and the Atlantic sturgeon.
“As the Assemblyman from Trenton, I see firsthand the environmental problems that this plant creates. We have worked for a long time to protect and clean up the Delaware River. The PSEG Mercer Generating Station is one of the biggest sources of pollution in our part of the River. The failure to have cooling towers not only threatens sturgeon, but dumps heated water in the River having a big impact on the environment. This plant robs the river of water and adds to algae blooms threatening the river’s water quality. That is why were are here today to tell the DEP to do its job and not only require cooling towers, but clean up the pollution from this plant in the River,” said New Jersey Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (L-15).